


Once I Had Her

by bemynewobsession



Series: Scarred Hands and No Heart [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F!Byleth, F/F, Hurt and comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 14:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20137297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bemynewobsession/pseuds/bemynewobsession
Summary: Byleth asks Edelgard why she is always wearing gloves





	Once I Had Her

**Author's Note:**

> I am hoping for this to become a series that will possibly turn into Edelgard/Byleth/Dorothea/Petra but that's wishful thinking cause I have like 18 other WiPs right now. But here's part one at least.

It was during a relaxing afternoon of bergamot tea and chess in Edelgard’s room that her favorite professor asked her the question she had been dreading. 

“Edelgard?” The student’s white haired head popped up from where she had been watching the chess board carefully, trying to determine how to get her king out of check.

“Edelgard why do you always wear your gloves, even at a time like this when we can relax?”

Edelgard felt a blush creeping onto her face and neck as she cast her eyes to the floor, avoiding looking at the professor in her earnest blue eyes. 

“It’s ju-just part of how I was raised. A remnant of Adrestian royal culture.” _ Damn. _That was a poor lie. 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about being proper with me Edelgard. I’ve noticed some of the more dexterous actions you make, such as picking up a chess piece, seem to give you trouble.” 

As if to illustrate the blue haired woman’s point, Edelgard’s knight clacked back onto the chess board as she was about to move it. 

Edelgard just blushed harder. The knight had scattered the other pieces, ruining the current game entirely. The younger girl moved her hands to her lap and wrung them nervously.

“It’s alright, let’s just restart from the beginning.”

The professor moved to pick up all the pieces and reset the board while Edelgard continued to fidget and squirm in embarrassment. 

“No, wait.” 

The hands in front of her stopped their movement of the chess pieces. 

“It’s not a part of Adrestian royal culture that I wear gloves all the time. It’s-” Edelgard trailed off and choked down the lump in her throat. 

“Do you remember how I told you that there was a religious cult dedicated to making sure I and all my siblings had Crests?” Byleth nodded slowly, watching her normally perfectly composed student with curious eyes. 

“My hands, my arms, even my thighs and legs...they’re all horribly scarred. They dug into our flesh for years. Half the time they left us chained in dungeons where rats came and took bites of our skin when they could.” 

Edelgard hung her head. She was openly crying now from the memory of it all, with only the years of her schooling her emotions and features prevented her from full blown sobbing. 

“They would cover our faces and necks or enchant them to make sure they were still acceptable to be out in public. But the rest of my body is-” Edelgard cutoff herself with a small gasp of breath. Her professor was suddenly knelt in front of her. 

The blue haired woman reached forward to take one of Edelgard’s gloved hands. For a horrified moment, Edelgard thought that the older woman meant to take her gloves off, but instead Byleth simply held one of her hands clasped between her own. 

“These hands,” Byleth started. “These hands have saved me on the battlefield. They wield a sword or an axe with ease and protect others who cannot protect themselves. They have my back and I trust them.” Edelgard was sure she had stopped breathing the moment her professor began speaking. 

“Edelgard. I don’t care what your hands look like. My own are calloused and war-torn. I only care to tell you that you can trust me to not judge you or your scars.” Edelgard’s white hair bobbed slightly with a nod. 

“Professor, I-” The younger woman gently pulled her hand out of Byleth’s. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes before pulling off one glove, then the next. 

Her small hands lay bare on her thighs. The whip and knife scars were most prominent on the backs of her hands. The bruising scars from the chains could just barely be seen beneath her sleeves. 

She dare not turn her hand over and show the symbols carved and burned into her palms. Before she could speak again, cold hands were on top of her freshly bare ones. 

How long had it been that someone’s bare hands had touched her own bare ones? Edelgard had almost forgotten the feeling. 

Byleth’s hands were indeed calloused, both with an archer and swordsman’s grip. The older woman soothingly moved her thumb across the top of Edelgard’s hand before turning them over and tracing the markings on her palms. 

Edelgard squirmed slightly again as her professor _ leaned down and kissed the scar. Edelgard barely bit back a slight whimper. _

_ Her professor continued to kiss nearly every scar on her hands before reaching up and pulling Edelgard down into a fierce kiss on the lips. Edelgard’s first. “P-professo-” “Call me Byleth” The words were whispered across her mouth. _

_ The older woman claimed her lips again gently before moving to sit in Edelgard’s lap. Edelgard let out an unabashed moan at the weight of her crush on her lap. They continued to kiss for a moment before Byleth moved her lips down to Edelgard’s neck. _

_ “Oh gods, yes Byleth-I yes-By-” _

“Leth..”

Edelgard opened her eyes blearily, her professor’s name on her lips. For a brief moment, she forgot what had happened and the time that had passed. 

The Emperor sat up in bed slowly, bringing her knees to her chest and cursing under her breath. 

In the nearly five years since Byleth had gone missing, Edelgard’s dreams had taunted her with memories or dreams adjacent to memories like the one she had just had. 

She hadn’t shared a kiss with Byleth that afternoon. Her professor had simply held her hand and reassured her while Edelgard had sobbed. They had ended their tea time with a gentle hug and Byleth had left. 

A week later, Byleth was gone. Missing from having tried to fight back against the Immaculate One. 

Edelgard walked over to her nightstand to check the timepiece that sat there. It was only an hour past midnight. _ Hmph. Two hours more sleep than last night. _

She could never sleep the rest of the night after having torturous dreams about her professor or her siblings. 

“Edie?” It was Dorothea at her door. Edelgard sighed out loud. Dorothea and Petra had taken it upon themselves to take turns checking on her at night. 

“It’s fine Dorothea. I’m fine.” “Are you su-” 

Edelgard threw her door open to find both Dorothea _ and _Petra standing in front of her room. 

“Edelgard. I am knowing what today is. I am not sleeping this night either.” Petra’s violet eyes regarded her softly. 

“C’mon Edie, we’re all having tea down in the dining hall.” Dorothea linked an arm around her own and pulled her along gently. 

“We?”

“Yes, it is the entire Black Eagle Strike Force taking the tea with us this night. We all wish to honor our professor.”

Petra walked next to Dorothea on her other side. Edelgard noted how the two other women let their hands brush before pulling away from each other slightly. 

“Of course.” Edelgard replied absentmindedly. 

She looked out the window to the stars. 

It was five years today since Byleth had gone missing. 

Edelgard had forced herself to give up hope that her professor was ever returning. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr @amidalas-shadow. Comments and kudos always welcome.


End file.
